Pace garners second team NAIA All-America honor

From staff reports

Cumberland’s Jessica Pace was voted second team All-American as selected by the NAIA-Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association All-America Committee and announced Wednesday by the national office.

Pace is the first NAIA All-American for the Bulldogs since Jessica Jones was a third team selection in 2001.

The Nashville native led the club in points (12.8) and rebounds (7.8) and tied for second in assists (2.06), helping Cumberland win the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament titles and break the school record for wins, as the club finished 33-3 overall.

Pace registered 24 double-figure scoring games as well as 10 double-digit rebounding efforts and eight double-doubles during the year, including six straight contests with 10-plus points and a pair of double-doubles in the Mid-South Conference Championships and the NAIA National Tournament.

Cumberland reached the semifinals of the national tournament, the program’s fifth appearance in the 32-team tourney and the first since 2007. It was the program’s second-ever appearance in the Fab Four and the first 30-win campaign in school history.